In recent years there has been a steadily increasing need for security for one's property and person. The instance of burglaries and forced entries into homes, office buildings, schools, industrial areas and other structures has steadily increased. One approach to this problem has been through the development of a multitude of alarm or warning systems, but law enforcement authorities constantly point to the need for the use of more secure locks and lock mechanisms.
One type of lock mechanism which is regarded highly by law enforcement officials is the so-called "dead bolt." This type of lock has the advantage of requiring a key to open the same from the inside as well as the outside of the structure. Thus, if the door is provided with a dead bolt, a burglar cannot enter through a small opening and open a door from the inside to carry away large objects. One of the primary disadvantages, however, of a dead bolt lock mechanism is that it is somewhat difficult and costly to install. The average homeowner often is not willing to attempt to install a dead bolt and is further unwilling to pay the added cost for installation by a locksmith. Still further, a dead bolt is difficult to adapt for use in securing sliding glass doors of the type found in many modern homes.
Attempts have been made to utilize the relatively simple and inexpensive padlock as part of a locked latch or bolt mechanism. These approaches have ranged from the relatively simple padlocking together of members as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,201,940 to the relatively complex use of multiple padlocks, bolts and keeper bars, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,094,861. Such simple systems suffer from the disadvantage of not being suitable for opening from both sides of the door, while the complex system has solved this problem at the expense of complexity and cost.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a high strength, lockable bolt assembly for a door, window or the like which is simple and inexpensive to construct and may be adapted to a wide variety of applications.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a high strength bolt assembly for positive securement of a door, window or the like which can be locked or unlocked from either side of the door on which it is mounted.
Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a high strength bolt assembly for doors and the like in which the strength of the bolt mounting elements, as well as the bolt, may be locked in place as a barrier against entry.
Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a high strength, lockable bolt assembly which is reliable, easy to operate and easy to install.
The lockable bolt assembly of the present invention has other objects and features of advantage, some of which are set forth in more detail in and will be apparent from the following description and accompanying drawing.